🇮🇹 ITALY EDGES ESTONIA IN EXTRA-TIME DRAMA TO CLAIM WOMEN'S TEAM EPEE WORLD TITLE
HONG KONG — 28 JULY 2026
World number five Italy captured a breathtaking World title in the women’s team epee event on the seventh day of the 2026 World Championships. Competing at AsiaWorld-Expo in Hong Kong, the Italian squad demonstrated ultimate defensive discipline to withstand a furious final-leg comeback from Estonia, securing a thrilling 31–30 victory in the gold medal match.
The victory caps a remarkable Championship performance for the Italians, who survived back-to-back single-touch thrillers against top seeds Korea and Estonia in the medal rounds.
While Estonia took home the silver medal, top-ranked Korea recovered from their semi-final heartbreak to capture bronze, leaving Hungary in fourth place.
Path to the Podium
Team Italy, represented by Gaia Caforio, Rossella Fiamingo, individual silver medallist Giulia Rizzi and Alberta Santuccio, opened their campaign with a bye before defeating Australia 40–14 and turning aside Switzerland 29–27. They booked their semi-final spot by routing Hong Kong 45–24.
In the semi-finals against World number one Korea, the Italians produced a spectacular comeback. Korea led 11–9 after three legs and stretched their cushion to 25–22 after six. Caforio came off the bench in the fifth relay to close the gap against Lee Hyein, and Rizzi subsequently put Italy ahead for the first time by outscoring Lim Taehee 5–1. Despite a furious 15–13 final leg from individual World Champion Song Sera against Santuccio, Italy held on for a dramatic 45–44 victory.
The gold medal match against Estonia was a tactical masterclass. Italy seized an early 10–7 lead after three legs, doubled their advantage to 18–12 after six and entered the final leg holding a 24–19 cushion. Katrina Lehis launched a heroic, all-out assault for Estonia against Santuccio in the anchor leg but Italy protected their advantage to narrowly seal the World crown 31–30.
Team Estonia, featuring Irina Embrich, Julia Beljajeva, Katrina Lehis and Veronika Zuikova, put together a phenomenal tournament path to claim the silver medal. Seeded seventh, the Estonians routinely dispatched Romania 36–25 and Canada 45–25 before pulling off a dominant 45–34 quarter-final upset against World number two France.
In the semi-finals, Estonia eliminated Hungary 42–34. Lehis sparked the Estonians early with a 7–4 run against Hungary’s Nagy in the second bout to build a 10–8 lead after three legs. Estonia pushed their advantage to 20–17 after six legs before Lehis closed out a high-scoring ninth leg against Eszter Muhari to book their place in the gold medal bout.
Team Korea, fielding Lee Hyein, Lim Taehee, individual World Champion Song Sera and Yang Seunghye, recovered magnificently from their semi-final heartbreak to capture the bronze medal. The World number one squad stormed through the early rounds, defeating Mexico 45–22, Kazakhstan 45–39 and Ukraine 44–38.
Following their 45–44 semi-final defeat to Italy, the Koreans fought back from an early deficit to defeat Hungary 45–40 for bronze. A determined Hungarian team dominated early on to lead 13–7 after three legs. Song came on for the fifth bout, scoring an 8–4 win over Emma Jasz-Borsody to bring Korea within one hit. Lee put Korea ahead 28–26 two fights later and Song sealed the podium finish with a 15–11 anchor leg against Muhari.
Team Hungary, consisting of Eszter Muhari, Lili Buki, Emma Jasz-Borsody and Blanka Nagy, finished fourth. Seeded sixth, the Hungarians impressed in the early rounds by defeating Colombia 45–30, Poland 38–26 and World number three United States 45–20 before falling in the medal rounds to Estonia and Korea.
Full results are here.
